My grandmother, the artist

Writer shares history behind Coronado exhibit she curated featuring work by her grandmother and her students

"Marina," by Esther Painter Hagstrom, who taught art at Coronado High School from 1939 to 1951. Her work, along with those of her students, are featured in a new exhibit at the Coronado Public Library, "Art Through the Generations." The exhibited was curated by Hagstrom's granddaughter, Suzy Hagstrom.

"Marina," by Esther Painter Hagstrom, who taught art at Coronado High School from 1939 to 1951. Her work, along with those of her students, are featured in a new exhibit at the Coronado Public Library, "Art Through the Generations." The exhibited was curated by Hagstrom's granddaughter, Suzy Hagstrom.

In death, my paternal grandmother was larger than life. Because she died before I was born, I never knew Esther Painter Hagstrom.

I grew up surrounded by her life’s work — mostly watercolors and etchings, an occasional oil and wood carving, enamel work and some ceramics. I wanted to be an artist like her, but, as the saying goes, I couldn’t draw a crooked line.

I grew up hearing stories from my parents and their close friends — all graduates of Coronado High School. They pondered the symbolism of the trees in her landscapes. In lamenting her premature death of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 46, they wondered whether she had yet realized her full potential as an artist.

There was even a hint of scandal. Esther Painter Hagstrom was a single mother at a time when divorce was considered taboo. All these discussions took place in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I grew up, a world away from Coronado High School, where my grandmother taught art from 1939 to 1951.

Wherever I’ve lived, wherever I’ve traveled, I’ve made it a point to see art exhibits. By cultivating an appreciation of art, perhaps I was unconsciously compensating for never having met my grandmother.

Friends often commented that my home was like an art museum. My late parents had allowed me to take the canvases that they deemed to be my grandmother’s lesser works. Now, decades later, the entire collection is mine.

The burden of family possessions weighs heavily, given I am an only child of only children. Finding a permanent home for my grandmother’s art has been in the back of my mind since 1998, when I moved to San Diego for reasons of family emergency.

On talking with the Coronado High School classmates of my late parents, the idea of exhibiting my grandmother’s works with those of her students emerged. Tracking down the ones who went on to become accomplished artists was easy for me, a veteran reporter for daily newspapers.

In a surprise, a few students found me. A 1939 photograph of my father and grandmother (then a mother with her young son), published by The San Diego Union-Tribune and Mesa College for their joint “Who We Are — Faces of San Diego 2000” project, prompted several letters and telephone calls. My research file for Esther Painter Hagstrom grew.

While learning about my grandmother from her students, I gained additional insight from a colleague. Mary Ellen Wild Woodhouse Munckton, 93, a retired music teacher for the Coronado School District, has the perspective of a friend as well as a peer. She and my grandmother socialized at the Hotel del Coronado’s dances for military officers. During the 1940s, they campaigned for and won equal pay for women teachers.